The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as, “any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving.”

Although opinions vary, it is often cited that the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is the first muscle car ever created. It was designed with speed and power in mind, using a powerful engine with a lightweight body.

By the mid-1970s some of this market converged into personal luxury performance cars, thus beginning an era where personal luxury trumped lightweight speed.

Performance-type cars began to make a return in the United States during the 1980s, however with new regulations governing safety and pollution combined with increased production costs, these new vehicles were not designed to the formula of the traditional low-cost muscle cars. Introducing electronic fuel injection and overdrive transmission to the remaining muscle car survivors like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird helped sustain a market share for them alongside personal luxury coupes with performance packages.

Karl Brauer, editor-in-chief of the online car review aggregator “Total Car Score” is a self-described fanatic who characterizes muscle cars as his “primary passion.” He compiled a list of what he considers 10 classic American muscle cars, saying, “Vintage car collectors consider these must-haves!”

Karl Brauer’s list:

• 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30

• 1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SD455

• 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1

• 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6

• 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV

• 1968 Ford Mustang GT500KR

• 1969 Ford Boss 429 Mustang

• 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi

• 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda

• 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Car buffs sometimes refer to classic muscle cars as “overpowered iron beasts” because these cars were built to deliver and beating and also to take one. They often burned rubber, and were anything but agile. Big, heavy, loud and rude, they embodied everything that was great about the American auto industry of the 1960s and 1970s.

American car-maker Chevrolet offered many different types, beginning with the Corvette in 1953, adding the Impala, Chevelle, El Camino, and Nova to its ranks throughout the years.

Dodge threw their hat into the ring beginning with the 1966 Charger, adding the Challenger and Super Bee thereafter.

Other American car-makers offerings include:

• AMC’s AMX and Javelin

• Buick’s Grand National

• Ford’s Mustang and Thunderbird

• Mercury’s Cougar

• Oldsmobile’s Olds 442

• Plymouth’s Barracuda and GTX

• Pontiac’s Firebird and GTO

Restoring

When restoring muscle cars, people have differing views on whether staying true to the original factory’s work is the best way to go, or whether improving on anything you can is better. One thing to keep in mind is that a well-documented restoration performed by a renowned shop will always hold more value than one that’s undocumented or completed by an unknown shop or individuals.

Customizing

Muscle cars are experiencing a resurgence in popularity, however finding one in mint condition is near impossible. Finding one that needs to be restored, and/or customized is a different story. So many different things about these cars can be customized, it is best to do your research on what features you would like to customize before getting a bid from someone.

Most likely people who own custom car shops are huge car fans who have learned the skills to do something they truly enjoy doing. Ask to see some of their work before going with a custom car shop, and remember it’s OK to barter when asking for custom work to be done to your muscle car.

Legionnaires’ disease, a rare disease, is a severe bacterial infection affecting respiratory tract (pneumonia). The organism involved in this condition is Legionella pneumophila that usually founds in mist from hot tubs, air-conditioning units and showers. Transmission occurs by breathing in mist from water that contains these bacteria. General symptoms include fever, cough, chills, muscle pain and headaches.

Windscreen wiper may cause Legionnaires disease A recent study found that “Windscreen wiper water may be the cause of 20% of cases of Legionnaires’ disease and adding screen-wash to wiper fluids could save lives”. This finding is based on a case-control study which surveyed the driving habits and known risk factors of the Legionnaires’ disease. They study was conducted after an unusual high number of cases were reported in England and Wales and around this time it was well established that professional drivers were five times more likely to get Legionnaires’ than people from other lines of work. The study was aimed to further explore the possible reasons for the difference between the occupations.

The researchers contacted the 75 surviving cases who had acquired Legionnaires’ disease and also included 67 control people without the disease. The participants were provided with a questionnaire asking about their driving habits, other recognized risk factors and possible illness sources in the vehicles. They were asked what kind of vehicle they drove, its age, car service history, content of the wiper fluid tank and whether their driving was for societal or occupation reasons.

The results showed that two factors were associated with a high likelihood of being infected: driving all the way through industrial areas and driving or being a traveler in a motor vehicle that used windscreen wiper fluid with no screen-wash. The researchers calculated that about 22% of infections in people could be due to driving or being a traveler in a car that did not use screen-wash in the windscreen wiper fluid. The detected a firm link between people who do not use screen-wash and the danger of Legionnaires’ disease. Although because of case-control nature of study it cannot confirm causation, the investigators state there is a reasonable biological connection. They believe it is plausible that the bacteria grow in the sluggish water of the wiper’s fluid tank that can become an aerosol when it is sprayed onto the windshield.

Though not proved causal relation, until more conclusive results comes, it is advisable to add screen-wash to your car’s wiper fluid as it can limit the transmission of bacterial causing Legionnaires’ disease.

Buying muscle cars seems like a mouth watering deal especially because there aren’t a lot of such cars in the market and buying one will make you feel special amongst the rest. However, there are a few things that you need to take good care of while buying such cars from the market. You are spending a lot of money on the car and hence you need to do a lot of research before buying them. Or else, all the money might go wasted. Before buying from the inventory of muscle cars for sale in the market, it is recommended that you get in touch with the seller and ask him a lot of questions about the automobile. All these queries should be asked before you take a look at the car and you should judge the muscle car dealer if he is genuine or not. Ask him a lot of questions and he should answer all of them confidently.

If he can’t answer them well, then you should know that the dealer might be hiding something from you about the car. You should ask the dealer if all the parts in the car are original or not. Also, you should check all the exact specifics of the ar like the transmission, engine options, etc. There shouldn’t be any flaws in the paint or body damage. If this exists, then you should bargain to get the price of the car reduced. The muscle car dealer should tell you his asking price and you should negotiate with him to get it down. Never consider the asking price of the muscle cars trader as the final price. Apart from that, the muscle cars shouldn’t have any safety problems. It should be completely safe for driving on the roads. If this requirement isn’t met with, then you might have accidents in the future. Apart from that, if the authorities go through your vehicle and if they suspect that the safety requirements aren’t complied with, then you might get in legal trouble.

The car should flawlessly on roads. It shouldn’t have any problems. If there are any problems, then you will need to spend extra money for repairs and hence you should talk with the car dealer for bringing the price down. While looking for the Used muscle cars for sale, you should check the history of the automobile. The car should not have any long history of accidents. If the car has gone through a lot of problems, then it is best recommended that you ignore the car and move on to something else. While buying the car, you should set a date and time to inspect the car. This date should be set as per your convenience and not according to the dealer. You shouldn’t appear to eager to buy the car or else the seller might increase the asking price of the car too much.

ClassicCarsAZ.com is a site where you will find plenty of used Muscle cars for sale. These cars aren’t too expensive, they are easily affordable and give you good value for money. You should take a look at this Website if you are thinking of buying muscle cars. You won’t find better deals on any other Website on the Internet.

Due to the recent popularity of Muscle Cars the price on these vintage rides has increased dramatically. The current demand is also making it harder to find a good deal on a classic muscle car, but if you know where to look it is still possible to get your hands on one at a price you can afford.

Your local Newspaper

This may seem like an obvious place but you can still find good deals on muscle cars from local newspapers. In most cases local sellers are not muscle car collectors and do not have an idea of what these cars could be sold for in a national market, this leaves the door open to find a steal right in your backyard, but you have to be quick, these cars have a huge demand. You can also use your local paper to place want ads; this will get potential sellers to call you. This is great because you’re not competing against others that are searching the classifieds to find a deal on muscle cars. You will most likely get calls from people who were not even thinking about selling until they seen your ad.

Online Classified Ads

Online classifieds can be a great place to find your muscle car. The prices may be a little higher than your local market but you can still find a good deal. Just use caution with these, and be sure you contact the seller so you can talk to them one on one and get more details.

Get In Your Car and Drive

This is possibly the best way to find an unbelievable deal on a classic muscle car, but it also involves the most work and it is not for everyone. Right now there are thousands of muscle cars sitting in barns, under carports, and out in yard just waiting on you to find them. Many times the owner of these cars will not part with them because even thought they have not even touched the car in years it carries some sort of sentimental value, but if you catch one on right day you can usually get an amazing deal on a classic muscle car for much less than you would pay anywhere else. You just have to get out there, find the cars, and convince the sellers to part with it.

eBay

This is my personal favorite place to find a bargain on a muscle car. Even though this is a national market you will find local sellers (unaware of the national market prices) placing their valuable ride for sale on ebay. You will definitely have competition for these rights but with careful bidding you can land yourself a great deal on your dream muscle car. http://www.Musclecars-forsale.com is a site that list muscle cars that are for sale on ebay, the list is updated several times daily so you are sure to find the classic ride you are looking for.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to own the muscle car of your dreams. Check you local papers, visit online classified sites, Drive around your area, and check on ebay. If you do these things you are sure to find the classic muscle car you are looking for.

Find a Bargain on a Classic Muscle car [http://www.musclecars-forsale.com]

Jon Yarbrough is a Muscle Car enthusiast and webmaster at musclecars-forsale.com